I use my fingers, just a quick swipe downwards when film is hung - gets rid of the excess. I do use a drop of Ilfotol "wetting agent" in final rinse. Never felt the need to try a rubber squeegee or chamois leather.

A tip I picked up somewhere (though I don't remember where) is to clip both ends of the film and hang it at a 45 degree angle with the sprockets on the top and the bottom of the film. The water then, if there is any left after shaking the reel a few times before unloading the film, drips into the sprocket holes and dries virtually without a trace. I've done this for as long as I can remember and haven't had water spots yet. I don't use Photoflo, either, FWIW.

I was intrigued when the salad spinner got brought up earlier (thanks, if that was you Thomas). Since I do not have a salad spinner, I tried flinging my extended arm around holding a reel of wet film in my hand. I do it four times with each half of the reel facing forward. It does fling almost all the water off so that I no longer have to squeege it to have it dry quickly with no dust. So after many decades of using a squeege with no problems, I no longer even bother.

Hi Bob,

I put the reel on on double piece of string and swing this until there are no more drops hitting the floor. Always had drying spots before adopting this practice, in spite of using photoflo and demineralised water.

Hi Bob, I put the reel on on double piece of string and swing this until there are no more drops hitting the floor. Always had drying spots before adopting this practice, in spite of using photoflo and demineralised water.

I was taught and have used (for 40yrs) a modified version of the squeegee method. After pulling the film from the Photo-floe I saturate a Photo Wipe in the Photo-flow. Fold it around the film an gently wipe it dry. It really doesn't take any practice to perfect and eliminates pesky water spots. FWIW my instructor studied under Arnold Gassan and that's good enough for me :-)

I was taught and have used (for 40yrs) a modified version of the squeegee method. After pulling the film from the Photo-floe I saturate a Photo Wipe in the Photo-flow. Fold it around the film an gently wipe it dry. It really doesn't take any practice to perfect and eliminates pesky water spots. FWIW my instructor studied under Arnold Gassan and that's good enough for me :-)

As long as works, it works for you....
No ONE way is THE correct way...

For years I used a squeegee and was plagued with scratches on film. I now just vigorously shake the final rinse water (including Tetenal Mirasol) off whilst the film is still in the spiral, then hang to dry. No water marks and no nasty scratches. I am a reformed squeegeeholic.

As long as works, it works for you....
No ONE way is THE correct way...

Exactly. What astonishes me is the degree of absolutism on this thread, often based on extremely limited personal experiences.

I've used chamois, squeegees, fingers, salad spinners, drip dry, alcohol drying, 45 degree drying, a film drying cabinet... They all have their advantages and disadvantages. Anyone who writes DO NOT EVER, about everything except their own system, is unlikely to have much idea of what they are talking about.

My own view, as I've expressed elsewhere, is that the best method for many people is whichever one they're not using at the moment; unless, of course, they are convinced that everyone else is wrong and that they alone have the One True Secret.

Lots of things are spread on the net by those who know nothing but think they do and have been lucky so far.

All you need is a piece of debris on the film and your squeegee or cloth or photo sponge or finger will grab it and you will get a scratch . Same way your glossy car gets scratched or plastic window.

Hang it up, inspect non touching with a loupe and wipe any material to the edge if necessary. respray with spray bottle top to bottom and let it drip.

Keep things clean with air and water filters. I lost my spotting brushes years ago .

Dear Ronald,

Highlight: true. So don't get any debris on the film...

I've been developing films for close on half a century, so I doubt it's "lucky so far". Yes, I scratched films when I was starting, but I haven't now for decades, with or without squeegees or fingers.

The argument in favour of wiping films is the greatly reduced incidence of drying marks, and slightly speeded drying times. Yer pays yer money and yer takes yer choice. Please don't come back with the argument that you can't get drying marks from distilled water. You can. In fact, I find that I get drying marks with B+W film if I use warm air in my drying cabinet, but not if I use cool air. There's a lot of alchemy in photography, alongside the chemistry.

I'd never heard of the spray-bottle approach before. What do you see as the advantages?

I just use (film only) a final post-wash dip in a plastic 1-liter container of distilled or deionized water. Leave the film on the reel, then dunk & swish-swirl, dip it in & out a few times, the shake the drops off. The only water on the film is distilled water, which leaves no spots at all, then hang-dry.

Eventually the distilled water gets crufty, so I discard it. Here in USA I can get 1-gallon (4-lite) plastic jugs of the stuff at, various times, the grocery, the pharmacy or (once) an appliance store.

Squeegee? waaay back in the '60s I had one of those for negs - a pincer thing with an interlocking pair of squeeges on either side - a thing o' beauty. Useless. I did get a giggle out of the photomag set who used to write about the perils of "silver particles" left over from the fixing stage. Using what electron microscope did they spot the dissolved silver thiocyanates? --alfredian

I photoflo , then rinse in distilled water, then shake out the reel, then hang
I used to squeegee after rinsing the squeegee in photoflo from the tank or distilled water whatever my last rinse was. never had problem w squeegee scratches

I had a long thread about scratches from "archival" negative holders a few years back - haven't resolved that other than not to use them or not to pixel-peep scans

A squeegee, sponge, or fingers will pick up some foreign material sooner or later.

Run that debris down the film and you get a scratch.

You can be lucky 10,000 times but you will get bit.

Hang the film up, fill a small ear syringe with distilled water and wetting agent, and rise the film with the spray. It should have already had a wetting agent rinse.

Put a print tray under the catch the water.

Dear Ronald,

First para: so keep it/them clean!

Third para: No, it's not luck. If you're sloppy and filthy, yes, you'll get debris on the film or the squeegee. If gritty water comes out of the tap, you may get debris on the film or the squeegee, though a distilled water rinse after development will usually wash off anything big enough to cause a scratch. But if you run your fingertip along a squeegee, you can feel if there's any grit on it.

You can repeat as often as you like that I've been lucky, and of course I can't prove that I haven't; but there comes a point when luck starts to look remarkably similar to knowing and understanding what you are doing.

See also Post 97: The argument in favour of wiping films is the greatly reduced incidence of drying marks, and slightly speeded drying times. Yer pays yer money and yer takes yer choice. Please don't come back with the argument that you can't get drying marks from distilled water. You can. In fact, I find that I get drying marks with B+W film if I use warm air in my drying cabinet, but not if I use cool air. There's a lot of alchemy in photography, alongside the chemistry.

Been doing it with my fingers but get some water spots, even using photo flo and distilled water. I just started developing c41 and its even worse. Going to try a paterson film squeegee next time. Im thinking of wetting the squeegee before using it. Otherwise I could see how it would scratch. I may even soak it in warm water to soften the rubber.

I live in a very hard water area, and have had trouble with water spots. I solved it by using filtered water for the final rinse (from a Brita water jug) and giving the film 30 seconds in a salad spinner. No problems with water spots any more.

Also works for C41 and E6.

...and obviously it goes without saying, use a separate spinner for your food!

I live in a very hard water area, and have had trouble with water spots. I solved it by using filtered water for the final rinse (from a Brita water jug) and giving the film 30 seconds in a salad spinner. No problems with water spots any more.

Also works for C41 and E6.

...and obviously it goes without saying, use a separate spinner for your food!

More than squeegee, I found that making the final rinse with distilled water + photoflow (mirasol) solved most of my water smear problems. I wonder how many of the different results people seem to have are the result of their water supply...

I put two reels opposite each other to keep the spinner balanced (one empty if I'm only processing a single roll). The basket has vertical ridges down the inside which gradually get closer together, so by sliding the reels down from the top they lock in place. The centripetal force helps to hold them in place while its spinning.

More than squeegee, I found that making the final rinse with distilled water + photoflow (mirasol) solved most of my water smear problems. I wonder how many of the different results people seem to have are the result of their water supply...

I think water quality and hardness is the deciding factor. I imagine if you live in a soft, high quality (meaning low particulate) water area, then you could probably hang the film without any rinse aid, squeegee or anything else. the rest of us have to be really careful.

LFN in distilled water. I still have a stock of Photo Chamois which I store wet and change the water on every time I process. I've used windshield wiper blades (new, not used) as well as dedicated film squeegees and never had a scratch.
Also, distilled water is extremely important for this step unless you have massively filtered water.

Got a squeeze now. Used it for the last 20 rolls I've done and not even a hint of a scratch. Works perfect. The fingers might work for you guys but its been bull**** for me. Always leaves spots regardless of distilled water and photo flo.

1. Keep the film wet time as short as possible
2. Use distilled water as the last rinse
3. Do not touch the wet emulsion with anything
4. Shake excess water off the film (I will have to try the salad spinner technique)
5. Air dry film in a dust-free cabinet with a light bulb heater and no fan.

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